CHAPTER 12

Flight School

After reading so many books on out-of-body experiences, I had
great enthusiasm about astral travel. After all, why hop a plane
to the coast, when you can hop the astral plane to the ghost? But
I tried everything I knew to travel with a thought, but nothing
seemed to work. Perhaps my expectations had been too great.
Perhaps science had been too deeply ingrained in me, and a part of
me still believed traveling had to be more complex than thinking.

Whatever the reason, I decided to take a different approach to
out-of-body transportation. Instead of trying to use my mind to
teleport myself, I decided to fly the friendly skies! My first
attempt at flight wasn't too disastrous, but not too coordinated
either:

01/27/81 Tue - OBE #32

...Some unknown time in the night I woke up out of my body.
I could not see in the physical sense of the word, yet I knew
where I was; I was in our back alley, and I knew I was
projecting.

I thought, "Where should I go?" and immediately decided
"To EJ" without hesitation--I had decided this before I went
to bed....So I took a running leap and started off in the air.

I rose above the houses quickly and was shaky for a
while; I remembered many flying dreams in which I have
crashed. But I decided that if I controlled my mind, I would
be all right. I flew higher and higher, and was touched by a
little fear; I was afraid to fly too high. So I made effort
to keep myself low enough for my own comfort. I could see the
roofs of houses, the trees, and everything.

When I first went up I realized I wasn't seeing
physically, so I thought, "I should see." Then I saw
everything okay. I saw my arms raised in front of me
Superman-style. I started to climb too high for comfort and
I became afraid of getting too far away from Earth.

With that thought, I started getting lower and lower. I
descended very quickly until I was forced to land. I landed
okay in some street, on the slope of a hill. I thought,
"...Now I'll never get there!". The next thing I knew I was
dreaming again.

Nobody ever taught me how to fly, so I was proud of my first
attempt. My next attempts were just as awkward, if not more so.

05/08/82 Sat - OBE #72

...I walked through the door and outside....It was bright and
sunny outside. The change was striking to me, since the room
in which my body was sleeping was dark. The sunlight didn't
hurt my eyes; it just seemed very clear and bright out. I
thought, "Now where should I go to take off on a flight?" I
looked up and I saw the branches of our hackberry tree. I
walked along our sidewalk toward the west.

I went to our front yard, and I stopped and faced the
east (where our back yard is). I looked all around. I was
very embarrassed to be out in the public where everyone could
see me while about to take a flying leap in the air in an
attempt to fly. I knew that I couldn't be seen by anyone, but
still I hesitated, dreading the possibility that I might be
seen. Such a flying attempt would look pretty silly for a
physical person. I took a few quick steps toward the east and
I leaped forward into a good flying position. For a second or
two I was completely weightless and I glided in midair for a
few feet. But then I stumbled and fell! I caught myself
before I fell on my face.

I decided to try again. This time I walked further west
until I was on the front sidewalk outside our house. I ran
about five feet toward the south this time (away from my
house) and I took a flying leap into the air, after looking
around for neighbors who could see. I fell flat on my face
again! It didn't hurt because I was not physical, and so I
picked myself back up. I decided to walk to our back yard
(east) and try [to fly] there once. I walked about ten feet
or so and I blacked out without any warning.

07/02/82 Fri - OBE #77

Early this morning I was dreaming. I dreamed that I was
talking to someone about astral projection. After the
conversation ended, and I was back inside my bedroom, I said
to myself (still in a dream state), "That's an excellent idea;
I think I'll project."

So in the dream, I stood up and went outside. I walked
to the place just behind (east of) my house and I woke up
there out of my body! I realized my condition, and I was
surprised, but I stayed in perfect control of my emotions:
The dream had prepared me to be calm for the upcoming OBE.

I was standing outside, facing east. I thought about
recent failures with astral levitation, but I said calmly to
myself, "It's worth a try." With an act of will, I started
rising through the air, straight up, in an upright position
(standing). It startled me but I told myself, "Stay calm;
it's no biggie. I'm going to go for a nice, simple flying
lesson. I'm not going to try for a big adventure."

I waited until I was about 15 feet in the air, then I
said, "Okay; that's high enough for now." The thought that I
might not stop rising did cross my mind, and it caused me to
rise a bit further, but I said to myself, "It's okay. Nothing
bad can happen. I can't be harmed. I'm in control." So I
stopped in midair. I totally relaxed my astral body so I
couldn't even feel it and I propelled myself forward through
the air toward the east with a mere thought properly placed.

I was slowly moving (flying) toward the east in a
comfortable position. I thought, "I'm totally relaxed. This
is a great bodily position to be in for flying." Then I
looked down at my astral body, and I saw I was almost upright.
My arms were hanging down, my head was forward, and I was
leaning forward about 30 degrees. My legs were relaxed and
naturally bent about 45 degrees. The position I was in was
almost exactly that of a 10-speed bicycle rider except I was
more upright and my arms were relaxed by my side.

I wasn't too steady in my flying. I bobbed up and down,
left and right, trying to correct my direction of flight. I
was moving slightly faster now, and the ash tree in my yard
was straight ahead of me. I tried to steer around it, but I
could not; I wasn't practiced enough at flying. I was just
about to hit the tree, when I wiggled my torso to the left
(north) and my head managed to miss hitting the tree. The
rest of my body hit the tree, and much to my surprise it bent
around the tree, and slithered around it elastically like a
snake overcomes an obstacle. "Whew!"

After that, there was nothing in my way. I started
flying a little faster, and I purposely climbed higher and
higher. I climbed to about four-hundred feet, then I
descended back to about two-hundred feet, so that I could see
the scenery more closely. I looked down without any panic at
all. I noticed that I could see everything well--equally well
as in the body, and very clearly. But I saw there was no sun,
and I felt it was dark out. I could see fine, however, and
everything appeared in a pale, almost gray light. It was like
seeing a picture from an infrared camera.

I glided softly, somewhat slowly over the houses, eyeing
the details of the neighborhood houses. I kept a close eye on
all the details of everything as I moved, and I verified that
I once again was in a real, waking situation. The details
didn't change, nor did my speed. And the tremendous detail I
saw around me, assured me I was seeing reality and not a
dream. I reasoned that:

In dreams I notice very few details, only those that are
necessary to the immediate story unfolding around me. This
wasn't a dream. Besides, I was fully awake and conscious.

Even in ordinary reality we screen out and ignore most of
the details of our surroundings. So I knew I was experiencing
reality with more clarity than normal in-the-body life.

Since what I saw didn't change, (I was looking for
changes) I knew my eyesight was at least normal, and that I
wasn't dreaming. Dreams have a bad habit of changing the
scenery to produce certain situations and emotions.

I verified and studied the details I saw below. The
details were all the same as waking life.

I flew to the east about three city blocks. I looked to
the north, and I saw a man come out of a house that was on the
north side of Lowry Avenue. He stood and looked at me, up in
the air. So I brought myself softly down across the street,
on the south side of Lowry, also to the west (I was now
kitty-corner to where he was standing). He walked across the
street toward me, and he came up to me. Just as he began to
speak, I lost consciousness and entered the dreamlike
semiconscious state. In this state the man and I exchanged a
few words, and I lost consciousness. The man was about 30
years old, with short brown, wavy hair, very friendly, with
kind eyes. He wore casual clothes. He was a little taller
than me, perhaps six feet tall. I can't remember anything we
said while I was in the dreamlike semiconscious state.

This OBE brings up a very important question: What's the
difference between a lucid dream and an OBE? I do believe that
occasionally people confuse one experience for the other. It's
very difficult to tell the difference in some cases. Some people
believe OBEs are poorly developed lucid dreams. Others believe
lucid dreams are poorly developed OBEs.

A comparison of the two experiences is given in chapter 6 of
With the Eyes of the Mind (An Empirical Analysis of Out-of-Body
States) by Gabbard and Twemlow (1984). The authors found the
following differences between OBEs and lucid dreams:

Lucid dreams occur in 50%-70% of the population, whereas OBEs
occur in 14%-25% of the population.

There are two types of lucid dream: The first type occurs
during REM sleep, and they are known as Dream Initiated Lucid
Dreams (DILDs). The second type occurs at the beginning
phases of sleep, and they are called Wake Initiated Lucid
Dreams (WILDs). Both types of lucid dreams occur only during
sleep or the onslaught of sleep. Typical OBEs are initiated
from a waking state, much like WILDs are, but some OBEs
unexpectedly occur from a waking state. Several people have
reported OBEs during which they have unexpectedly "fallen out
of their body" from total consciousness, as described in
chapter 9. Some of these occur when the physical body is
active, such as walking down the street.

Lucid dreamers can consciously program their dream, whereas
OBEers are usually passive observers.

Lucid dreamers have an integrated body image, whereas OBEers
view themselves as separated from the physical body, which is
inert and thoughtless.

Lucid dreamers have consciousness that is vivid, even
mystical, whereas OBEers experience a more normal form of
consciousness.

Lucid dreamers view their experience as a production of their
mind, whereas OBEers view the experience as objective reality.

Lucid dreamers have Rapid Eye Movements (REMs), whereas they
are not observed during an OBE.

Lucid dreamers don't typically see their physical body, but
OBEers usually do.

In addition, the authors felt that fewer lucid dreams have a
lasting positive lasting impact on the subject, whereas OBEs
usually a highly positive lasting impact.

In a lucid dream, typically one does not dream about being in
one's bedroom, as is common in the out-of-body state.

After a lucid dream, the subject accepts the "unreality" of
the lucid dream after awakening. After an OBE, the subject
usually asserts emphatically that the experience was "real."

Many Lucid Dreams contain sexual content. In fact, author
Patricia Garfield indicates that "fully two-thirds" of her
lucid dreams have sexual content. Lucid dream sex is
convincingly real; it feels the same as real sex. OBEs,
however, rarely have sexual content. When OBEers report
having "astral sex," the experience is not anything like
physical sex. It's more like an ecstatic mind-trip, a
transfer of energy, or a euphoria, but it doesn't feel like
physical sex.

Lucid dreams--like normal dreams--are not easily remembered,
unless one is conditioned. Memory is a key factor of having
Lucid Dreams. OBEs, however, are usually remembered vividly
for years, without prior conditioning.

Also, an out-of-body experience is a typical feature of a Near
Death Experience (NDE). One can hardly think that Lucid Dreams
occur during an NDE, especially because the physical body doesn't
spontaneously go into REM sleep during an NDE.

Perhaps the most convincing argument is this: I've had lucid
dreams in which I had complete control, then dispelled the dream
only to wake up in an out-of-body state. When this happens I've
noticed that the scenery in a lucid dream seems artificial, unlike
OBE scenery. It's even possible to change the scenery with your
mind. Here is an example:

05/17/86 Sat - OBE #126

This morning I was in the beginning of a dream in which
I found myself walking through the hallways of a hospital, and
there were other people in the hallways. I realized I was
dreaming, and became lucid.

First, I wanted to play with the lucid dream state for a
little while, so I started gliding through the hallway. Then
I levitated my feet and began to fly down the hospital
corridor at a good speed. The hallway ended, but instead of
hitting the wall I decided to change my focus and create a
tunnel that I could fly down. With an act of will, a hole
appeared in the wall ahead, and a tunnel formed. The hospital
scene slowly blended into a tunnel scene, the hallway becoming
the tunnel. In real life, a tunnel of this size (without
lights) would appear to be darker toward the end of the
tunnel. The dream-tunnel I created didn't seem to end, and it
appeared lighter in the back and darker in the front. There
was a strange kind of grayish light, almost like a fog, that
obscured where the end of the tunnel.

I started flying down the tunnel at a great speed, but I
knew it was an illusion. I got bored with flying, so I slowed
myself down, lowered my feet and focused myself back in the
hospital. I was in the same hallway. I turned and started
floating myself back down the hallway in the opposite
direction, turned left, and down toward the main desk. Then
I stopped completely and decided that I didn't want the
illusion of the dream anymore.

I closed my eyes, to unfocus from the dream. The dream
scenery melted away and my vision went black. I was floating
out of my body. Then I decided to have some fun, and I
started flying wildly in all directions, doing loop-the-loops
and having a ball. I turned about twenty loops of great size,
just like a jet airplane, but I was unable to open my eyes for
some unknown reason. Still, the sensation of flying was a
blast.

I was having great fun flying so freely, and I decided to
try an experiment: I decided to try to fly to the sun. I
stopped and stood straight up. I reached up over my head with
an imaginary line of force, and I kept reaching, trying to
touch the sun with my line of force. When I decided that my
line of force had reached the surface of the sun, I tried to
"feel" what it was like at the end of the line. It really
didn't feel any different, just a little "denser" (that's the
only way I can describe it.)

Then I started pulling myself straight up, along that
line of force, toward the sun. I accelerated tremendously
toward the sun, until I was traveling what I felt to be near
the speed of light. After about three minutes of this
tremendous speed I still didn't feel any change, so I stopped
and I tried to see where I was, but I wasn't able to see
anything. With that, I blacked out and woke up inside my
body.

If I had remembered any astronomy from my childhood, I would
have known it takes more than eight minutes traveling at the speed
of light to reach the sun. And I might not have been traveling at
the speed of light.

The difference between the out-of-body experience and the
lucid dream is not always apparent. I guess you'll have to rely on
your own sense of "real" and "not-real" to decide this for
yourself. One thing is for sure: more scientific study is needed.
It is premature to jump to the conclusion that "OBEs are actually
variant interpretations of lucid dreams" as proposed by Stephen
LaBerge in chapter 9 of his excellent book Lucid Dreaming.

EXERCISE 12

Lucid Dreaming

Many OBE experts say that some part of our psyche is already
familiar with the out-of-body experience. Many books claim that
every night, some part of our psyche leaves our physical body and
goes about work of its own. What happens then is so far removed
from the physical world that we usually only remember bits and
pieces of these journeys as "dreams."

During OBEs and lucid dreams your body is asleep, but unlike
dreams, your consciousness is awake. Well, your body goes to sleep
every night. Suppose you had a way to "wake up" your consciousness
but leave your body asleep. You could turn an ordinary dream into
an OBE. You could wake yourself up and say, "Wait a minute. I
know this is a dream. I'm wide awake now." From there you could
either keep dreaming and have a "Lucid dream," or wake yourself out
of the dream and have an out-of-body experience. Both are fun.

Lucid dreams are great. You can literally do anything you
want. You can remain completely conscious and do anything you can
imagine. They're almost as fun as OBEs, but they're not as real.
The scenery will be fake. OBEs, on the other hand, are sometimes
more constraining, but they're real.

The problem is, when you're dreaming, you usually don't think
to wake yourself up. In fact, you usually don't realize you're
dreaming: You think you're awake.

Here's a simple exercise to help you get around that problem.
Ask yourself in all seriousness, "Am I dreaming?" Well, are you?
Maybe you're just dreaming about reading this book. So how do you
know you're not dreaming all this? I want you to make sure you're
not dreaming this.

If you ask yourself this question every fifteen minutes today,
you'll probably ask yourself the same question tonight when you're
dreaming. Daytime habits often carry over into dream habits.

You don't have to ask it every fifteen minutes, but the more
often you ask, the more likely you are to catch yourself dreaming.
You can set yourself a reminder, like your watch. How often do you
look at a clock? Every time you look at a clock, try to figure out
if you're dreaming. It won't take long. And it could be a
life-changing experience!